Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Dare to be Uncommon

FIVE STAR REVIEW: The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge by Tony Dungy

I don’t know about you, but next year I want to lead an Uncommon Life.And this book will help you do just that.

About two years ago, I read Indianapolis Colt’s former coach Tony Dungy’s book Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance. In that book, he urges readers to lead an “uncommon” life and writes in his introduction: “At the end of the day, I’m sure of one thing: accumulating stuff and women and titles and money are wrong keys. Fitting in, following the crowd, and being common are not what we’re supposed to do. There’s more in store for us.”

Indeed, there is more in store for us as Christians. A true Christian is uncommon, because they are holy. When we accept Jesus Christ as our savior through salvation, we become holy and separated from the world—set apart for a special use. We become uncommon.

This year, I am going to dare to be even more uncommon and as a pastor, urge my congregations to be more uncommon as well. To help me with that I will dive into this wonderful resource—Dungy’s newest book, The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge. It gets people into the Word of God each day and reflects on Jesus in a practical, down-to-earth kind of way. Each devotion focuses on one of seven themes, each theme repeating every seven days: Core, Family, Friends, Potential, Mission, Influence, and Faith. Each devotion starts with Scripture (which for me has to be the foundation), and then Dungy interprets the verse or often shares a story from his life correlating to the verse. Some are about his wife and family and some are about football and coaching. Each one-page daily devotion ends with an “Uncommon Key” for you to ponder throughout the day. For example, on November 30 the “Uncommon Key” is, “Ask God where He would like you to be busy today. When you enter into and develop a relationship with Jesus Christ, allow Him to determine the areas where He wants you to be involved the most.”

I am suggesting that Jesus is calling us to be busy reading God’s Word this year. It is a Christian’s nourishment. This devotion is set up in a way that it can be started any time of the year, so if you are just now thinking about getting it, don’t say, “Well, the year has started, forget it.” No, start today and endure. Dungy in Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance quotes Cal Stoll, his football coach at the University of Minnesota: “[He] often told us, ‘Success is uncommon, therefore not to be enjoyed by the common man. I’m looking for uncommon people.’”

Be uncommon, and in doing so, enjoy the victory of being set apart for God!

*Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book. (Visit www.tyndale.comfor more information)